2016 – Jean's Master Key Blog

Week 2-14 – Victorious

I added a line to my POA card a couple weeks ago. I think I mentioned it in comments. “I skip afternoon snacks and feel victorious!” I can’t begin to tell you how huge this is for me. I am not the least bit hungry, yet I’m in the 3:00 hour, and I feel the mental pull to snack. On something. Anything. I remain VICTORIOUS.

Last year, my journey to health began to feel possible when I implemented “I eat before 8 pm.” It didn’t take long, but that pull to snack after 8 pm and the associated hunger pangs were gently dispensed with by reminding Subby that we eat before 8 pm. I searched for many months for the next step in this journey, and I believe I’ve found it with “I skip afternoon snacks and feel victorious!” (The exclamation point is important.)

In the past, I’ve always felt a need to snack at this time — including hunger pangs. Last summer Young Living released a new product called CitraSlim. I tried a box. I didn’t lose weight, but I noticed I didn’t feel hungry in the afternoon (something I’d already identified as a challenge for me). I stopped taking the product, because it was out of stock, and I noticed I felt hungry in the afternoon. I’m taking this product, and the hunger pangs are just not there. I do remind myself to make sure I eat lunch between 11 and 1:30. Now, I have no mid-afternoon hunger pangs, and it’s all mental. I remind Subby, “I skip afternoon snacks and feel victorious!” This is working. One more step as I manifest my True Health.

Week 2-13 – Acceptance

We’re edging into Week 14, so I’ll take a moment to catch up and talk about Acceptance as I acknowledge my delay in posting. I can’t blame Christmas preparations for my tardiness because we’re very low-key for the holidays. I could mention heating unit troubles at both houses. One minor, but the other will require a system replacement. The replacement was thoroughly expected, but the timing was less than optimal. Thankfully, San Antonio temperatures are expected to be mild for the next few weeks until the January 10th replacement. We’ll be cozy in Central Texas, where a new breaker is soon to be installed, hopefully rendering our downstairs system more capable of handling extreme cold weather.

What does that have to do with thought being a spiritual activity? Perhaps not much, but it has a lot to do with Acceptance. And thoughts are a big part of Acceptance. Whether dealing with heating unit failures on slightly below freezing days (it sounds worse than it was — we have a few small gas heaters we can fire up as needed to maintain comfort) or declining health of loved ones, Acceptance is the first step in not drawing the power of creative thought away from achieving what is desired.

To keep the Law of Growth in play, one must remember that what one think about grows, and what one forgets atrophies. Without exception. This doesn’t mean I deny the need to replace my HVAC system. It means I accept the situation and take responsibility for fixing it and moving on. I focus my attention on positive things (we no longer have to wonder if we have to call the service people each time we enter the house after being away; this is one step in preparing the house for sale; the system is certain to be more efficient; thankful my checkbook is in a positive place to handle this untimely expense, etc).

Compared to loved ones’ declining health, HVAC replacement is a cinch. Yet, the loved ones in concern have both achieved health improvements this year, and I’m thankful. To me, these health situations, to a certain extent, required Acceptance. The universe is as it should be. I can’t change it. I must accept it. I take Responsibility for my situation. I don’t blame anyone, and I seek the opportunity the situation presents. Then, I must remain Defenseless. This is challenging for me, yet the power of spiritual thought is key. With practice, one can tap into the Universal Mind, and discover the opportunity present in any situation. With practice, one can learn to tap into the power of the Universal Mind to capitalize on the opportunity one discovers.

I’m feeling my way cautiously here. I experience much trial and error, but I persist until I succeed. Inexplicable things are beginning to happen in my life, so I know applying these principles we learn is paying off. I persist until I succeed.

Week 2-12 – Knowledge Does Not Apply Itself

As I prepare for 2017, I’m working through the questions in my Tools4Wisdom planner. They start with the Big Picture — “Where am I now?”, “Where do I want to be?”, and “How do I get there?”. I know certain things, but I can attest that knowledge does not apply itself. If it did, I’d be healthy, wealthy, and wise, right?

I’m passable in all those areas — better than I ever expected in some of them, but I have room for improvement everywhere. That’s why I’m looking over what I want to do, where I want to be, and am deciding how I’m going to get there. Because, as we know, it’s very important to be specific with Subby. I hit a home run with “I eat before 8 pm” last year. That was a great start. Snacking after 9 pm accounted for a lot of extra calories. They say if you cut 500 calories a day, you’ll lose a pound a week. But “cutting” calories is a negative, and we want Subby to experience positive language, right? “I eat before 8 pm.” has been incredibly positive. Since I added that to my POA card, I have done well with that goal. It’s easy. It was challenging to apply that knowledge for the first couple of months, but since then, I gently remind myself that “I eat before 8pm” and my mind and body say, “Oh. Yeah. That’s right. Never mind.”

I’m looking for equally positive ways to implement other plans to lessen food’s place in my life. I’m toying with “500 calories to spare” on my LoseIt! daily tracker. If I eat 500 calories less than LoseIt! says I should eat to achieve my goal, I should achieve it faster, right? On the other hand, I could set the program to achieve the goal I want and stick to it, right? You see, it’s not just knowledge but the right kind of knowledge I’m working to apply.

The same is true for my fiction revision project. It’s sitting on the table behind me, avoiding being worked on. I’ve let the project intimidate me. I’m doing a lot of Sits on this, visualizing me completing the project with confidence and skill. But visualizing only goes so far. I have to do the work.

Week 2-11 – Forget It!

M. R. Kopmeyer is solidly the second member of my Council. Thoughts to Build On is such a valuable supplement to this course. Each chapter is short and pertinent to everything we’re studying. The terminology is even consistent. One of my readings this week was titled, “Forget It.”

The lesson? When something annoys you, don’t dwell on it. Forget it right away. The theory behind this is, you’re going to forget it eventually, why not do it now? Don’t spend even a moment of your precious time dwelling on something that needs to be forgotten and let go.

You’ve heard the tagline for the disaster clean up people, right? “Like it Never Even Happened.” That’s why we need to make annoyances that we’re going to eventually forget about anyway disappear (even if you think you won’t, you will, so Do. It. Now.). The sooner the better.

Don’t escalate the irritation. Don’t dwell on it. Ignore it and forget it immediately. Don’t even acknowledge it. Think about something else (where have we heard that before?).

I confess, this still takes practice for me, but we’ve already been practicing with our Mental Diet. Keep that diet going.

Note: Kopmeyer’s Thoughts to Build On is out of print. A search revealed you can get an electronic copy in several formats on the Internet Archives Site (consider donating to help keep their site freely accessible, whether you agree with their politics or not). Numerous notable online used bookstores also seem to have copies. Prices vary widely.

Week 2-10 – I Persist Until I Succeed

We began Scroll Three this week — I persist until I succeed. Last year, I struggled with “I greet this day with love in my heart.” We’ve just finished Scroll Two, and you know it’s all about love in our hearts. I’m pleased to report that persistence on greeting each day with love in my heart is paying off. I have improved in this area. The journey continues, but progress is in the right direction.

Persisting is one of my strong points. Good thing, too, because I have so many areas where I fail in nearly every category except persistence. I persist until I succeed.

Week 2-9: Manifesting My DMP

My DMP has been manifesting nicely. One aspect is my work with feral cats. If you follow my main blog, you know I’ve been working toward catching Zelda to get her spayed. I know Zelda is the mama cat for Sapphire, Nick, and Daisy. I’ve begun to suspect she’s the mama cat for Walter and Junior. Daisy is from her latest litter, which, based upon game camera photos, was born September 30 (Zelda was absent from the camera that day).

I knew I had to get Zelda captured and in to be spayed before she had yet another litter, but we didn’t want to leave any unweaned kittens. Trying to catch her over Thanksgiving weekend wasn’t going to be good, because my veterinarian and staff were closed to enjoy the holiday. That meant Monday, November 28, was the day to begin in earnest attempting to trap Zelda and Nick.

I put the trap on the porch on Sunday to familiarize them with it. Monday morning, I stepped outside with a newspaper and a can of Fancy Feast, Nick and Zelda’s favorite. Nick and Zelda watched me set up and bait the trap. Zelda started eating her way in but backed out. Nick took her place, and (as I expected) he quickly trapped himself. Zelda watched. I covered the trap and headed for the veterinary clinic. They got Nick captured and checked in for his health check, neutering, and vaccinations. I took the trap and returned home. I walked back onto the porch with the trap and the rest of my can of Fancy Feast. Zelda watched me set it up, then she cautiously began eating, then backed out. She worked her way in and backed out. I went back into the house, and no sooner had I stepped into the parlor than I heard the trap trip. I covered it up and took Zelda to the clinic.

I have never had such an easy time trapping cats as I did yesterday, but it happened just as I’d visualized it.

Later in the afternoon, I saw Boomer on the porch. Was this too good to be true? I’ve been trying to catch this cat for two years, and last month he’d inexplicably began letting me pet him while he ate Fancy Feast. I grabbed a carrier and went outside to pet him while he ate, then I gently but firmly scruffed him and tucked him into the carrier. I took him to the clinic. The sad news is Boomer tested positive for feline leukemia and FIV. I expected this, because this poor kitty had been so clearly ill for some time, so I stayed with him while he was put down.

Nick, thankfully, at six months old, passed his FIV test, was neutered earlier in the afternoon, got his vaccinations, and he was ready to come home. The clinic staff put him into the carrier, and we came home. I released Nick to take care of his little sister last night while I await the fate of Zelda today. Nick and Daisy spent last night with each other on their first night without their mama. It’s mid-afternoon, and I’ve not heard from the clinic yet. I’m operating on the “no news is good news” theory that, since I didn’t have a phone call from them, that Zelda passed her FIV test, too. It could be the clinic got really busy today, and she hasn’t been tested yet, so until I get good news, I’m apprehensive.

I have (had) five cats in my colony. Walter has been neutered for three years and is well. Daisy is too young yet, but she seems healthy. I needed to catch Boomer (already suspecting he wouldn’t make it), Zelda, and Nick. That manifested perfectly yesterday. I now know I have a healthy outdoor cat colony. Walter, Nick, and Daisy for sure. I have high hopes for Zelda. I dearly want her to be able to enjoy her “retirement” from having kittens.

Four is a comfortable size for my immediate neighborhood. There are some down the street who venture to my feeder, and at some point, I may work with the man where these cats live to get them spayed or neutered to stop the explosive growth, but for now, my colony is safe and protected. That had to be my first priority.

Week 2-8 — Opinions

My brother found a book, read it, loved it, had me buy him three copies from Amazon, then he gave me one of those copies. The title? Thoughts to Build On: Thought Power for Successful Living, by M. R. Kopmeyer.

It’s like a mini-Haanel translated for daily living. We’re taught to have no opinions. Chapter Five is a little twist in that. We are to separate fact from fiction and only believe the fact.

Imagine a past-middle-age man saying to you, “I’ve lost my fortune through unwise investments. It’s too late to start over. My family and I will live out our lives in disgrace and poverty. ”

There’s only one fact in that statement. The rest are opinions. Unless the man believes them all to be facts and lives his life as if they are. Then, they become facts.

Can you see where this is going? We need to have a clear understanding of what’s fact and what’s opinion in our thinking about our lives.

This is a game changer. Whether we like the Buckeyes or the Wolverines means nothing on the have no opinions scale. Whether we believe we’re all washed up or not in our inner self-talk is what really matters.

Eradicate the opinions. Focus on the facts. Make sure you teach yourself which is which.

Week 2-7 – Forgiveness

I’m thankful I was able to catch the webbie live this week. We’ve been traveling non-stop since the end of September. I love the forgiveness week. I learned long ago to let things go. I had had a couple of personal things that I started to hold a grudge about, but I realized the thing I was upset about was not any of my business, and if I didn’t let it go, it would negatively impact my relationship with people I cared deeply about. I wish I could describe how to do it, but, frankly, it was a decision. Once I decided, the issue was just gone. That simple.

Big stuff has been easy for me. Once I recognize it, I can let it go. The little things have been more insidious. When I find myself constantly annoyed by someone or something, there’s probably something I need to be letting go. Identifying that, letting go, and moving forward can be challenging. I’m getting better at it.

I forgive everyone. Easy to say. Easy to do. But learning to recognize the signs that something is disrupting my life flow is important to dislodging it and letting it float away, never to bother me again. I’ve started to recognize when I need to look for something to let go.

Similarly, I had serious issues with the last two stanzas of the Gal in the Glass. I was annoyed by the second to last stanza, and I kept thinking of Joe Paterno for the last stanza. Finally, sometime over the summer, I realized I wasn’t troubled by them anymore. Now I read them, and keep going. This is the first item we need to read daily for this experience that I can recite from memory. I have a long way to go on the Blueprint Builder, but I’ll get that one, too.

Week 2-6 – Love in My Heart

My ex-husband once called me a “cold-hearted…” you know the end of the phrase. While I have struggled with Scroll Two, I have learned much from it. My heart is very warm when it comes to cats and animals. In the past, my heart has been cooler toward humans; however, Blueprint Builder Paragraph 5 tells me every morning that this will not work.

My mastermind partner gave me several tips to incorporate into my morning routine to teach myself to do this more effectively. This year, I’m searching this Scroll for more ways to be more genuine in this respect. I have a friend from high school who personifies this Scroll. I’d like to emulate her.

I have five decades of not doing this the way I should. I will improve, but this one has many bad habits — some of which I don’t even recognize yet! As I identify these bad habits, I will indentify a corresponding good habit to replace it with.

Scroll One taught me many things this year, and good habits are more than just reading scrolls three times a day. That’s just one habit, which can be used to establish other good habits.

Have you heard of Fitbit Challenges? Fitbit has mapped places around the country, and as I start the challenge and walk my normal steps, Fitbit overlays my steps onto the map, and I complete the challenge. I’m walking the NYC Marathon this week. It seems as if using the scrolls to establish new, good habits is kind of like this.

Week 2-5 – First Virtual Council Member

I’m interviewing candidates for my Virtual Council. Most of the candidates are no longer living (or I do not know them personally or have easy access to them), so I’m “interviewing” them via biographies or autobiographies. I want members to support the scrolls and the Master Keys. Readers should not be too surprised to discover my first candidate is Og Mandino. If you’re in your first year of the course, you’ll be learning Mr. Mandino’s surprising history soon. If you’ve been around the MKE Experience longer, you already know. For the interview, I chose Og Mandino’s A Better Way to Live. In this book, Mr. Mandino offers a brief history of his struggles before he achieved success and also includes 17 principles to live by (don’t worry, you aren’t missing anything — the essence of these principles has already been incorporated into the Master Key course; however, I found the commentary accompanying each principle complementary to what we’re learning. I’m jotting each of these principles onto my index cards and adding them to my stacks.

Mr. Mandino is, most definitely, on my Virtual Council.